The present invention is directed toward devices for supporting piping, and more particularly to a pipe clamp having a design for easy and economical manufacture which is formed from a unitary and continuous sheet of material.
In the plumbing industry or the like which includes the use of pipes for carrying various fluids such as water, oil, gas and the like, a substantial problem exists in supporting the pipe lines. For example, pipes may run through sewers or the like and the pipes need to be supported on the sewer walls. Difficulties arise in hanging pipe and securing the same because the pipe can be heavy and difficult to hold while trying to attach it to a bracket or clamp or the like on a wall. Accordingly, the piping art includes a variety of piping supports and clamps which can be used for applications requiring easy to use, fast connecting supports. However, as discussed below, the pipe clamp or supports available on the market today are expensive due to the somewhat complex molds used for manufacturing the same.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,215 to Freier discloses a pipe clip wherein the pipe clip comprises a baseplate and a pair of arcuate-shaped strap segments having struts pivotally attached thereto for attaching the same to the baseplate. The straps segments include mutually engagable toothed closure tongues on the outer end portions of the same so as to lock the straps in place around the pipe, when in use. When the closure tongues are engaged around the pipe, the straps are symmetrical. As can be seen from the figures, the pipe clip shown in the Freier patent is substantially complex in design. The clip shown therein is preferably formed via a molding process and thus requires a substantially complex mold to be engineered for manufacturing the same. The price for engineering the mold is passed on to the price of the clip and consequently, the clip shown in Freier is reflectively expensive. The clip in Freier could not be manufactured from a unitary sheet of continuous metal or other material due to the non-continuous nature of the design. Accordingly, unlike the instant invention, the pipe clip shown in Freier lacks the ability to be inexpensive to manufacture while meeting fire codes which require metal clips.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,855 to Schenkel et al. discloses a pipe clamp. The pipe clamp comprises two clamp segments mounted to an attachment component. The segments can be detachably connected with one another when in their closed position about a pipe. The clamp segments are attached, toward the center of the clamp, to the attachment component by means of respective hinges located between the component and the clamp segments. The clamp segments also include cooperating locking parts for releasably connecting the clamp segments to one another about a pipe. As with the Freier clip, the design showed in Schenkel et al. is also complex and would require a complex mold for manufacturing the same. Thus, the expense of the complex mold is necessarily passed on to the consumer in the price of the pipe clamp, unlike the instant invention. Also unlike the instant invention, it is unlikely that the Schenkel et al. pipe clamp could be manufactured from a sheet of metal. The design is too complex and non-continuous for the formation of the clamp via a continuous sheet of material. While the specification in Schenkel et al. does allude to the possibility of forming the pipe clamp from metal, it is unlikely that the preferred embodiment could be manufactured from a sheet of continuous metal, for obtaining the obvious cost reducing advantages, i.e. decreased manufacturing steps.
Hence, there exists a need in the plumbing and piping arts for a pipe clamp or support which can be efficiently and economically manufactured, which is inexpensive to purchase and which is acceptable for various fire codes.